Merry Sickmas
by Brentinator
Summary: "That sounds like pneumonia, Tony. Pretty sure it's viral if he's been sick since he got there." Bruce explained while adjusting the glasses on his face. "He didn't start showing symptoms till last night, but knowing him, he probably has been hiding it since yesterday afternoon, minimum."


"Can I go on another ride, Peter?" Morgan begged while tugging at his sleeve while he was sitting at the dining room table, going over his notes from the lecture that had happened the previous afternoon before he made the drive for holiday break.

Peter sighed, trying to fight back the pain in his head as he rubbed his eyes before looking up at the six year old who was staring right back at him and asking for a piggy-back ride.

"Uh, maybe later? I have a lot of homework."

Morgan pouted, but nodded, and responding by giving him a hug and skipping into the living room, announcing. "I'm having a tea party! And Uncle Happy, you are invited to join me."

Peter couldn't stop himself from giggling, which turned into coughing, as he watched the six year old lead her "Uncle" up the stairs by his hand before returning his eyes to his homework, seemingly making his head pound more.

"How's it coming, Pete?" Tony asked as he entered the kitchen, grocery bags in hand. "College kicking your ass yet?"

The billionaire expected the teen to respond with some sort of gen z humor or sass, but all he received was a quiet voice asking if he had any Tylenol or Advil. He turned around and saw Peter holding his head in his hands.

Tony put the grocery bags down and grabbed one of the chairs with his prosthetic arm, moving it so he could sit in front of the teenager.

"Look at me." He insisted, which led the teen to look at him with watery eyes and splotchy cheeks. Something he knew by now was a tell-tale sign of a fever. "You gotta tell me what feels bad." When Peter gave him a raised eyebrow, he corrected himself while pressing the back of his real hand to Peter's forehead, wincing at just how warm he was. "Symptoms, I'm used to treating a child under the age of ten."

"My head h'rts. Everything hurts, but esp'cially my head. And I'm tired...m're then usual." Peter coughed again, and rubbed at his chest.

Tony nodded, silently ecstatic that it probably wasn't a stomach bug, before standing up, and walking over to the medicine cabinet.

He grabbed the ear thermometer, a glass of water and the bottle of Peter's medication before sitting back down in front of the teen, turning on the thermometer.

"Don't panic. Just checking your temperature." Tony insisted as he placed it in the teenager's ear, and held it there for a few minutes before it beeped, and he looked at the reading. "101.2. Take some of your drugs and head to bed. Your boring college work will be here when you feel better."

He expected a protest, even just a tiny one, but when the teen just downed the pills and started heading up the stairs while coughing, Tony knew he felt a lot shittier then he was letting on.

•••••••••••••••

A hour later, and Morgan had fallen asleep on the floor during the tea party, still dressed in her princess Jasmine outfit and decked out with Pepper's jewelry.

Happy started to take off some of the formal attire that Morgan had insisted he had to wear when Tony came upstairs, a grin on his face.

"Enjoying your tea party, Hap?" Before walking to where Morgan was sleeping and lifting her limp body into his arms, letting her head rest against his shoulder.

"I'm heading out after I take this stuff off." He insisted, standing up from his spot on the floor.

"Well, I've got one kid in bed, and one sleeping on me, so it looks like a easy night if you wanna stay here."

"I'm exactly set on another tea party at 8 in the morning, but thanks for the offer."

"No problem." Tony smiled as Happy left the room, starting to untangle his daughter from her dress.

"Daddy..." She groaned, struggling against him trying to get the dress off.

"You're alright, Morgan. Just go back to sleep." He smiled, finally removing the dress off of her limp form and tucking her in under her covers, kissing her head. "Good night." Before turning out the light, and walking straight to his room.

He would usually stay up and try and work on some things to lighten the load for Pepper, but with Peter sick, it was gonna be a long day, and he knew that no amount of coffee was gonna bring him through without some sleep to go with it.

•••

When Tony woke up the next morning, it was from his daughter practically jumping on his bed.

"Alright, Morguna. I'm up." Tony groaned, rubbing a hand over his face, feeling his heart drop when he remembered that Pepper wouldn't be home till Sunday, and it was Saturday. Still, Tony pulled himself out of bed, letting the six year old take him downstairs to the kitchen. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes!" Morgan exclaimed excitedly as she grabbed onto the counter with her hands, pushing herself up in excitement. "And bacon!"

"I haven't even had coffee yet, and I'm alright on the breakfast grind. Welcome to Stark's Diner, home of the famous chocolate chip pancakes." Tony joked as he set up his Kurig, resulting in a giggling Morgan. "Go get dressed and check on Peter for me while I make your breakfast, please."

"You got it, daddy!" Morgan grinned before running back up the stairs.

Tony put on his prosthetic arm and got to work on breakfast, pausing only to let Happy inside and let him take over bacon duty when Morgan came back downstairs in her Spider-Man shirt, snowman tutu and snowman leggings, before sitting at the breakfast bar.

"Petey still has a headache." Morgan reported as she accepted the glass of milk and plate of bacon from Happy. "He's also shaky and cold."

"I'll go check on him." Tony smiled as he ran his real fingers through Morgan's hair in order to fix her bedhead while putting her plate of pancakes in front of her.

Tony quickly grabbed the Rudolph themed cookie tray, putting a small pitcher of orange juice, a glass, Peter's medication and a plate of pancakes on it before going up to Peter's room and knocking on the door. "Room service." He called before twisting the door knob, and the sight broke his heart a little bit.

Peter was curled up on his side and taking short, shallow breaths through his mouth. His small trashcan was nearly full with tissues and cough drop wrappers, his cheeks splotched in red, a deep cough erupting from his mouth every few minutes, and the icing on the cake was his bloodshot, watery and swollen eyes.

"Come on, bud. I need you to sit up." Tony spoke softly as he brushed his sweaty curls out of his eyes, letting the 19 year old prop himself up on his elbows. "That's what I like to see."

Tony turned away for a moment to grab the thermometer that he had stashed in Peter's top drawer of his nightstand, pulling it out of the sterile packaging before turning it on and inserting it into Peter's left ear. "Yeah, that's not great." Tony bit the side of his lip before showing the thermometer to Peter, revealing the reading of 102.1.

"So, what's the plan?" Peter questioned, his hand shaking as he gripped the pitcher of orange juice and poured it into the glass, stopping to let out a cough and rub at his chest.

"You're gonna eat and get rehydrated. After that, you're coming downstairs so I can keep a eye on you and Morgan. Watch some Christmas movies with her, and try not to die in the process. I'm gonna go get your makeshift bed ready and call Bruce. Can you let FRIDAY know when you're ready to head downstairs?"

Peter nodded and Tony left the room, making a quick stop at the linen closet before coming downstairs to see Morgan and Happy watching some show about dogs (Tony had seen eight different dog animation styles at this point) celebrating Christmas.

"How was breakfast, kiddo?" Tony asked while laying down the blankets and pillows on the couch.

"It was good. I wanna play in the snow." She decided while pointing out the window at the blizzard coming down around the cabin in the woods.

"It's too cold to play outside right now. How about you and Peter watch some Christmas movies? Maybe drink some cocoa?" Tony suggested while moving the many stuffed animals to the loveseat. His suggestion got him a very ecstatic nod from Morgan, so he added another mental point to his parenting chart before heading back up the stairs to retrieve the teenager.

The trip down the flight of stairs was a rough one, with Peter having to stop every few steps and grasp onto the stair rail, but the pair managed to get down the stairs and get the teenager on the couch. Tony stuffed several pillows behind his back and pressed a kiss to Morgan's head before stepping into the kitchen and called Bruce.

Peter rolled onto his side, and smiled at Morgan, who was dressing her build-a-bear in its coat. "Hey, kiddo." He stopped to clear his throat. "You wanna watch a movie?"

Morgan nodded enthusiastically, grabbing the remote from the small drawer and starting to flip through the channels. "Dad, which number is the Christmas movies?!"

"Hand the remote to your uncle!" Tony raised his voice before turning back to the FaceTime call he was on. "Yeah, he's got a fever and chills, chest pain, a pretty bad cough, he's exhausted, and he's wheezing a bit."

"That sounds like pneumonia, Tony. Pretty sure it's viral if he's been sick since he got there." Bruce explained while adjusting the glasses on his face.

"He didn't start showing symptoms till last night, but knowing him, he probably has been hiding it since yesterday afternoon, minimum."

"I think the best course of action is making sure he's resting, hydrating and keeping his fever under control. But if he's not getting any better by the time Pepper gets back on Sunday, his fever spikes or if he starts having issues breathing, he needs to be taken to a medical facility."

"Thanks, Brucie. I'll call you back if I have more questions." Tony smiled before hanging up. He quickly made Morgan some cocoa in the Kurig, and poured Peter another glass of orange juice, and carried the two Christmas mugs into the living room, coming in to see the pair watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

"Cocoa for the alpha female." Tony bent down and handed her the mug, standing up as he placed Peter's mug on the coffee table. "And orange juice for the sick teenager. Anyone need anything else?"

"Move away from the TV, I can't see!" Morgan demanded while drinking her cocoa. Tony stepped to the side and placed a hand against Peter's forehead.

"You're still pretty warm...a shower wouldn't be a bad idea if you're feeling steady enough."

"I'll go after the movie." Peter responded as he cleared his throat before drinking some of the orange juice.

•••

Peter definitely needed that shower. His muscles loosened up a little, and his chest felt a little less congested. After changing into a clean outfit and draping his towel around his shoulders, he stopped to send a text to May before drying off his hair completely.

That's when there was a knock at his bedroom door.

Peter coughed as he walked across his room and opened the door, expecting to see Tony or Happy checking up on him, but instead, Morgan was standing in the doorway, proudly sporting her Doc McStuffins coat, a pair of latex gloves and bag of mostly fake medical tools (she had a real thermometer and kid sized latex gloves, that was it).

"You need to lay back down. Daddy's making you some soup, but until then, I'm supposed to check on you." Morgan explained before snapping her fingers twice. "Chop, chop."

Peter quickly relented and laid down, putting the towel down on his pillow so he didn't get it wet with his hair. He still felt bad, and fighting with a determined kid in a doctor's coat was not going to do anything. Besides, he was okay with indulging her for a little bit.

Morgan pulled herself onto the bed using unbridled upper body strength and opened her doctor's kit, pulling out the very real thermometer.

"We have to take your temperature first. Daddy has powers and can put his hand like this" Morgan paused to press her freezing cold hand against Peter's forehead. "But I have very cold hands, and that's not good if I do that." She explained as she turned on the thermometer and put it in his mouth. "You have to keep it under your tongue."

While the pair waited for the reading, Morgan grabbed her stethoscope and put the ends in her ears. Just as she was going to press it against Peter's chest, the thermometer went off and he pulled it out of his mouth, relieved to get the plasticity metal taste out of his mouth.

"What does it say?" Morgan questioned, trying to get a look at the digital number on the side of the stick.

"It says I have a fever of 101.7, which means it's gone down since last time your dad checked." Peter explained, letting out a cough and rubbing at his chest.

"That's good." Morgan deducted before blowing on the resonator of the stethoscope and pressing it against Peter's chest. "Heartbeat is good." She scooted around the mattress till she was facing his back and pressed it against his back. "Take a deep breath."

Peter agreed and took two deep breaths before letting out a small coughing fit.

"Your breathing sounds like you're crunching a fruit snacks bag. Like cracking." Morgan explained before pulling out a tongue depressor and a small light. "Say ahh."

"Ahh." Peter repeated as she shone the light down his throat. He was holding back a cough till she got the wooden stick out of his mouth, and as soon as she did, he let that cough out.

"I've seen everything. Let me get you some water, and then we'll talk about your diagnosis." Morgan explained as she slid off the bed with her kit, excluding her chart and her glittery blue gel pen.

Peter chuckled as he picked up his phone off the nightstand. He had only known Morgan for two years now, and already he had seen so much of a change. After all, Morgan was in first grade now.

She wasn't the shy four year old she had been when they met, (granted, part of that may have been worry over Tony), she was now a bubbly, inquisitive six year old with big dreams to help the world somehow.

Granted, she had been obsessed with being a doctor after binge watching Doc McStuffins while Peter was babysitting and the entire household was paying for it, but Peter thought it was sweet.

Morgan came back in the room with a glass of water and handed it to him before pulling herself back onto the bed.

"Dad said he's almost done with the soup. But, based on my examination, it seems you have ammonia."

Peter nearly choked on the water he was drinking, before putting it onto the nightstand. "You mean pneumonia."

"That's it!" She exclaimed, before reading off the chart. "The treatment plan for your pneumonia is a lot of water and a lot of sleep." She stopped and pulled a plastic syringe and a band-aid out of her coat pocket. "You also need a shot of antibiotics."

Peter nodded and rolled up his right arm sleeve, watching as Morgan scooted around to his side, and wrapped her hand around the underside of his bicep. "Big pinch." She warned, pressing the plastic to his arm.

Peter flinched for show, and let Morgan put the completely unnecessary band-aid on his arm, before laying back against his pillows, letting his eyes drift closed as she skipped out of the room.

•••

Sunday morning basically went the same way as Saturday. Morgan insisted on doing a follow-up and watching more Christmas movies and specials with him. His fever had risen back to a steady 102 and refused to go down, no matter how much Tylenol he took.

Happy had went home the night before, and wasn't planning on coming back till Christmas morning, but he had to pick up May from the airport so they could be together till Tuesday.

Tony had stepped out ten minutes earlier to take care of Gerald for the day, so Peter wasn't alarmed at all when the door opened. What did bring him out of his fever haze was when Morgan ran toward the door, completely abandoning The Grinch and yelled.

"Mommy!"

Peter sat up, coughing as he did and saw Pepper hug her daughter, before she hung up her coat and came to the couch.

"Hey, Mrs. Stark. Welcome home."

"Hey, Peter." She smiled, deciding not to fight the battle of "it's Pepper, honey", opting to gently brush his curly hair out of his face and put her hand against his forehead. "Tony wasn't kidding about you being sick. Are you feeling better then you did on Friday?"

"Little bit." Peter propped himself up on the couch arm and let out a cough. "Morgan's had a field day with this."

"Oh, I bet. Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you, Mrs. Stark. I'm just gonna get some more rest before I wrap and mail all these presents."

Pepper pursed her lips thoughtfully, before smiling down at him and brushing his curls out of his eyes again. "Okay, honey. You do that."

Peter nodded and let himself drift off to the sounds of The Grinch, waking up two hours later to see all the gifts wrapped for May, Ned, MJ and Liz, along with a pastel green post-it note that read.

'Figured we could help you out with the wrapping. -Tony and Pepper.'


End file.
